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by Martyn See, No Political Films Please, We're Singaporeans
I will attempt to shed my "Singapore Rebel" tag and make like a law-abiding Singaporean by submitting Speakers Cornered to the authorities for classification, as required by law.
by Heng-Cheong Leong, MyAppleMenu
There have been a lot of comments lately on the web, decrying Public Transport Council's (PTC) initial rejection of SMRT's new bus route service as being "too cheap". Imagine that: SMRT wanted to charge cheaper fares, but the government says no! (Note: The fare SMRT wanted to charge , and end up charging, is still more expensive than the basic fare; it is 'cheaper' only when compared with 'premium' services, which is usually between $2.50 to $3.00.)
But there is a vey clear reason why this is so on PTC's part: this particular route service is not classified as a basic service.
ComfortDelgro and SMRT are given duopoly status in operating basic transport services in exchange for a set of rules that govern the two transport companies. These rules are quite wide in scope, and range from train and bus fares, frequency of services, hours of operation, and route coverage. The two companies will need to get PTC's approval for any changes in fares and routes.
To protect the duopoly status of the two companies, the government imposed many restrictions on non-basic transport services, including the fare: "Premium bus services are positioned as niche services distinct from basic bus services, and have to meet the following requirements... Fares are at least 1.5 times the equivalent fare of basic public transport services."
Perhaps there is an alternative view point on PTC's initial rejection. Perhaps, one can see PTC as saying to SMRT: either serve this route as a basic service and earn back the money you can get from having more customers for the MRT network, or take the business risk to serve this route as a premium serivce at 1.5 times the basic fare.
One point of the basic transport fare structure is that passengers on popular routes subsidise passengers on less popular routes. By compromising on this basic point by "caving in" to SMRT, the PTC may be weakening its fare regulation framework. There are now more ammunition for ComfortDelgro and SMRT to start charging higher prices for non-HDB estates and other so-called niche destinations not covered by the current service standards.
I believe PTC need not resort to price-differentiation for premium services in order to protect the basic services, but that's what we have, and that's what PTC get to use.
by Shamim Adam, Bloomberg
Singapore's economy probably expanded for a 15th quarter as a buoyant jobs market spurred demand for goods and services and construction companies increased building.
by Tay Shi'an, New Paper
Couples feeling the pinch as prices of hotel packages soar but honghao gifts remain the same.
by AFP
From banks to telephones, an airline to shopping malls, and semiconductors to airports, the reach of two state-linked investment firms from the city-state of Singapore extends around the world.
by Ng Sook Fun, Infocomm Development Authority Of Singapore, Straits Times
Given the rapid decline in dial-up subscription, this indicator is seldom considered in such ranking of countries, and has in fact not been included in major rankings over the past few years. Hence, the dial-up subscription rate is not a factor for Singapore being considered as a country with one of the highest levels of infocomm connectivity in the world.
We do creative accountings only in places where it doesn't matter!
by Reuters
The Singapore government, which recently bought a 9 percent stake in UBS, does not aim for operational control over the Swiss bank, a Swiss newspaper report on Sunday.
by Mavis Toh, Straits Times
Travellers are outraged by ads which quote deceptively low prices, but travel agents feel stiff competition leaves them with little choice.
by Seah Chiang Nee, The Star
Singaporeans are striving to prepare for the day when even a hotel receptionist must have a university qualification.
That may not be too far away.
by Presenting The(new)mediaslut!
If you have taken part in SMRT's Ride SMRT, Celebrate Life! contests, you might receive an eDM with emails of other contestants group with yours.
by Chio Su-Mei, Channel NewsAsia
by Singapore Life And Times
I wonder if the transport minister's pay rise should not be held back until he can see satisfactory resolution to this matter?
by Satish Cheney, Channel NewsAsia
by Lim Boon Hee, Today
All these incidents show that there should be an island-wide parallel bus network as events have shown the MRT to be unreliable at times when there are huge crowds, like during the festive season. The ad hoc contingency bus services during train disruptions leaves much to be desired.
by Tracy Sua, Straits Times
Fines could be upped for those who feed monkeys, in the wake of a recent incident where a horde of 15 primates grabbed food from a pregnant woman and her toddler at MacRitchie Reservoir Park.
by Yeo Han Tiong, Straits Times
by S. Kulaveerasingham, Straits Times
by Today
Fresh questions about the outcome of a planned link-up between Singapore Airlines (SIA) and China Eastern Airlines are being raised following the appointment of Air China chairman Li Jiaxiang as chief of China's civil aviation regulator, analysts said on Friday.
by Bernard Leong, Simple Is The Reason Of My Heart
by Wu Jiayin, Shanghai Daily
A Singaporean hotelier has been forced out of business for failure to respect "local practice" - free hotel meals for officials in Fujian Province.
by Christopher Toh, Today
Come Tuesday, all MediaCorp Radio's 13 stations will broadcast 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Hmm.... I cannot remember the last time I seriously sat down and listened to the radio. Podcasts on my iPod — that's the way to pass time on my daily commute.
by Liu Xuemin, Lianhe Zaobao
by Singapore Angle
Could the government be trying to achieve too many goals with the fourth university, thus potentially placing too much expectations and responsibilities on a potential liberal arts college?
by Nicholas Boer, Contra Costa Times
You've never had satay like this. Moist, fat chunks of dark meat pebbled with coarse-ground spice. Sweet, vanilla-banana aromas mingled with sharp scents of pepper. Oily peanut sauce, amde from caramelized coconut milk, richly coats your mouth, while a touch of sour tamarind commands your salivary glands to action.
by Michael Chua Kheng Hwee and Tan Meng Lee, Today
Perhaps we could take a leaf from South Korea's en bloc laws, which manadate a one-for-one exchange as a first option.
by Au Waipang, Yawning Bread
Looking at how food courts increasing to without a halal-certified Malay-Muslim stall, I'd say the trend towards separation continues unabated. Will this lead to further invisibility of Malay-Muslims in Singapore?
by Goh Bee Lian, Straits Times
I believe most Singaporeans recognise the need for skilled foreign talent. But based on the anecdotes we have been reading and on my personal experience, many of these foreign workers deployed in the service sector do not even speak basic English, and yet in some cases have the gll to tick off customers for not being able to speak Mandarin.
by Krison Tan Kok Guan, Straits Times
I hope, in future, the management will be more sensitive to the artistic and cultural education and appreciation of the public, let alone the negative publicity to generous sponsors of exhibitions.
I wonder how much money the museum is getting from the fashion shoot. Enough for them to ignore sponsors and patrons?
by Ridzwan Abdullah, Straits Times
by Lee Hui Chieh, Straits Times
by Rosie Milne, Telegraph
I've just got back from our family's annual light safari, to view the wonders — we undertook it by car since there are miles and miles of lights, so to walk would have taken us way beyond The Beloved Son's bedtime, and mine.
by Patricia Kowsmann, Wall Street Journal
Think Singapore banks. They're likely to do well next year on robust domestic growth.
One important caveat: The ride could turn rocky if a U.S. economic recession or continuing bad-debt write-dwons slam the city-state's financial services companies along with their peers abroad.
by Utopia
by Hongjun's Technology Edge
by Lucy Huang, Today
Is this the way we are going to pass our twilight years? Always faced with the prospect of having to sell our home?
by Lee Hui Chieh, Straits Times
Dover Park Hospice, which looks after the terminally ill, decided to pull out late last y ear after it realised drawing on Medifund would pose a 'conflict with our philosophy towards charging,' said chief exeucitve officer and medical director Noreen Chan. The hospice did not want dying patients and their families to be stressed by exhausting their savings, and having to prove it.
by Karamjit Kaur, Straits Times
Coach operators gear up for competition in luxury fare market with coming entry of budget carriers.
by Nig Jing Yng, Today
Ad panels light up train ride in novel way to attract commuters.
by Ansley Ng, Today
From next month, the price of electricity will be increased by an average of 1.24 cents per kilowatt hour (kWh) — or about 6 per cent — from the current 21.38 cents per kWh.
by Florence Tan Siew Bee, Straits Times
Being single in Singapore is becoming increasingly difficult.
by S Ramesh, Channel NewsAsia
by Ong Jiin Joo
by Aaron Ng, Hear Ye! Hear Ye!
I do not think that quality teaching is necessarily positively correlated with the level of education.
by Good Morning Yesterday
In recent years, many of the older public swimming pools that my generation used to go to when we were young have closed down.
by Be Heard Be Seen
by daletan.com
They fill the entire space they're on, they're always new and trendy, and they don't interact with the surrounding buildings.
by Reuters
Singapore and its close informal ally Taiwan traded barbs this week over a Taiwan referendum asking voters about United Nations membership, with Singapore calling the move "provocative" and "irresponsible."
by Mr Wang Says So
"The Infocomm Development Authority (IDA) has, in fact, been including every residential phone line in its 'dial-up internet subscription' figures, The Straits Times understands."
by Cleofe Maceda, Gulfnews
The number of Middle Eastern travellers to SIngapore is likely to grow more than 49 per cent in 2008 as the contry becomes increasingly known as a family-friendly destination, the Singapore Tourism Board (STB) said.
by Runner Leana
9 Starbucks in a 2 mile stretch along Orchard Road. These folks must really need their caffeine!
by Singapore Life And Times
Frankly, whether the fare is too low is no business of the PTC.
The problem is that because of the various rules and regulations imposed on ComfortDelgro and SMRT in exchange for granting them the monopoly of operating so-called basic public transport service, there are rules and regulations preventing others from eating into their monopoly, including government-imposed price differentiation.
To make the market more open and freer, the government will have to take bold steps to transform the public transport sector. Unfortuantely, the government doesn't seem to be willing to take them.
by Goh Soon Poh, Public Service Division, Prime Minister's Office, Today
The total annual pay for ministers includes all bonuses, such as the 13th-month payment, the average performance bonus and the GDP bonus.
by Endoh Pure Ranting Room
Are our roads seriously laiden with so many rogue taxi drivers?
by Nazry Bahrawi, Today
by Zul Othman, Today
It is a $2-million addition to the Shenton Way skyline, but some passers-by are not sure what to make of it. It stands on an island at the busy intersection of Finlayson Green, opposite One Raffles Quay, and is a painted steel sculpture known as Momentum.
by AFP
State-run investment funds from Asia and the Middle East are unleashing a cultural revolution on Wall Street, buying up big stakes in ailing US banks, but the deals are also raising national security fears.
See Also:
Singaporean Investor Temasek Finally Clinches A $5-Billion Stock Purchase Deal With Merrill Lynch, by Harriette Cecilio, AHN.
by Julia Ng, Channel NewsAsia
In the first 10 months of this year, Singapore attracted 13,969 new citizens - much higher than the average of 9,600 in the past five years - and 53,011 new permanent residents, a 21 percent rise compared to the average of 43,600 in the last five years.
by Channel NewsAsia
Singapore's consumer prices faster-than-expected in November, underpinned by higher costs for food and housing, said the Department of Statistics on Friday.
by Clare Cheung and Hugo Miller, Bloomberg
Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd., Singapore Airlines Ltd. and Air Canada received a letter from the European Union's antitrust arm alleging violations by the airlines' cargo units.
European and U.S. regulators are investigating at least a dozen carriers for possible price fixing of fuel surcharges at their cargo units.
by Kane Hill, Straits Times
by Kuek Chor Ling, SMRT Corporation, Straits Times
We do allow foldable bicycles without protruding parts during off-peak hours.
This is not what SMRT said previously, as documented by mrbrown.
by Chia-Peck Wong, Bloomberg
Temasek Holdings Pte, the biggest shareholder in Standard Chartered Plc, increased its stake in the U.K. bank by 1 percentage point 18 percent, helping it boost banking investments in its $100 billion portfolio.
by Jy~s
by Joyce Lim, New Paper
New neighbour moves in, residents clash over neighbourhood icon.
by Tan Yi Hui, Straits Times
Playing the cartoon characters appearing in mall shows is not all fun, say some teenagers who take on the job to make some money during their school vacation.
by Syu Ying Kowk, Straits Times
Many Singaporeans have come to realise that our train operators are not really on par with their Hong Kong counterparts ad nowhere near First World standards.
by Kerry Howley, Reason Magazine
No, we don't want to be more like Singapore overall. We want to be more like Singapore in the ways that Singapore is more liberal than we are.
by Neil Chatterjee, Reuters
Demand for luxury is coming not only from visitors.
by Bernard Leong, Simple Is The Reason Of My Heart
by Elia Diodati, E Pur Si Muove
The Singapore government and the MSM still dictate the agenda of many Singapore blogs, let alone that of coffeeshop debate and taxi-drivers' unsolicited musings.
by Digital Conscript
by Jamie Ee Wen Wei and Shuli Sudderuddin, Straits Times
Those on shore leave have a curfew and most of them must return to their ships by midnight. And if they get into drunken brawls, shore guards will step in to cool things down.
by Laura Santini, Jason Leow and Yaroslav Trofimov, Wall Street Journal
Significantly, many investments like these are in the form of minority stakes, rather than controlling stakes, presumably to diminish possible political fallout.
See Also:
Buying Quest Sees Temasek Looking West, by John Burton, Financial Times.
Sticky Deal At Merrill Lynch, by Noele Kensut, Mijka Samora's Reality Journal.
by Seah Chiang Nee, The Star
A succession of unpopular policies — incredibly ill-timed, if not ill-planned — has rduced the government's public popularity to the lowest level in many years.
It is ironic because the economy and the job market are on a roll, which should have resulted in a high level of optimism and improved feelings for the ruling People's Action Party.
Instead the opposite is happening.
by Pranay Gupte, Portfolio.com
For the emerging sovereign wealth funds of the Persian Gulf and China, Temasek Holdings of Singapore is looked to as the model.
Temasek is a secretive company whose executive director and chief executive is Ho Ching, the wife of prime minister Lee Hsien Loong.
by Karamjit Kaur, Straits Times
From next month, Singapore Airlines (SIA) will advertise full fares so travallers will know right away how much their air ticket will cost.
by Sumathi V. Selvaretnam, Straits Times
by Bryan Lee, Straits Times
Singapore is spending $2 billion to expand its port to beef up annual capacity by about 40 per cent.
by Leong Sze Hian, Today
Including bonus, is minister's pay about the 77% of private sector benchmark?
by Karamjit Kaur, Straits Times
From next month, Singapore Airlines (SIA) will advertise full fares so travallers will know right away how much their air ticket will cost.
by Sumathi V. Selvaretnam, Straits Times
by Bryan Lee, Straits Times
Singapore is spending $2 billion to expand its port to beef up annual capacity by about 40 per cent.
by Leong Sze Hian, Today
Including bonus, is minister's pay about the 77% of private sector benchmark?
by Joshua Kurlantzick, New York Times
Singapore may be clean, efficient and manicured, but the prosperous island-state knows how to get down and dirty, too.
by Melanie Lee, Reuters
Chillis and limes grow in a lush garden between colorful cement houses with leaking metal roofs in Kampong Buangkok, a village with no roads or computers.
The sight would be nothing out of the ordinary in much of southeast Asia. But Singapore's last village, nestled in a forest clearing, is an oddity in the sophisticated city-state where skyscrapers and high-speed internet are the norm.
by Andrew Ross Sorkin, New York Times
The latest Wall Street firm to be linked to these cash-rich, state-owned funds is Merrill Lynch, which is reportedly in talks about a potential cash infusion of $5 billion from Singapore's state investment company, Temasek Holdings.
by Thomson Financial
Six economists polled by Thomson Financial expect the consumer price index to rise 3.7-4.2 percent in November from a year earlier.
by All And Sundry Singapore
by Vittorio Hemandez, AHN
While American and Briton shoppers stung by the subprime crisis are holding off Christmas shopping until prices drop rock bottom, shoppers from tiny Asian nations are on a Yuletide shopping and traveling spree.
by DPA
The US Commercial Service has been warning American exporters that Singapore is used as a conduit for credit fraud, its website said on Friday. "If you receive a credit card order from Singapore, check its legitimacy before you ship," the agency advises, noting the service and the American Emabssy have received multiple complaints from US merchants reporting fraudulent transactions.
by Today
Although my old car is dying, it's better than taking the bus or taxis.
by Sheralyn Tay, Today
To make things more worrying, there has also been an increase in emergency blood requests, said Ms Carol Teo, head of corporate communications at the Red Cross.
by Lee Seck Kay, Straits Times
I know! I know! I know! Let's charge everybody who parks within 100m around MRT stations!
by Yeo Boon Eng, Straits Times
The government is now facing difficulty in recruiting top civil servants because the younger generation has grown up in a very different environment, a politically stable environment, where their parents lavished material goods on them... If you ask a top student whether he would like to be a civil servant, his answer would very likely be negative.
This assertion is simply unproven and undemonstrated by the government.
by Zulkarnain Ab Hamid, Straits Times
by Today
A mysterious tiered tower, seemingly shrink-wrapped in canvas, has been under construction at one of the busiest intersections in the Central Business District for several months. Tomorrow, it wil finally be revealed as Singapore's tallest sculpture.
See Also:
An UPward Spiral? Singapore's "Tallest Sculpture" Set For Prominent Intersection, by Peter Schoppert, Asian Public Art News. The work by artist David Gerstein is said to be 18.35 metres tall, to have been a tecnical challenge, and to have cost the developers of the adjacent One Raffles Place some two million Singapore dollars.
Singapore's Tallest Sculpture Is New Centrepiece At The Heart Of The CBD, by KeppelLand.
by Rosie Milne, Telegraph
Here in equatorial Singapore, the CHristmas weather can certainly be frightful, but as a consequence of monsoon rain, not of snow.
Still, at this time of year an expat girl can grow wistful for winter.
by Andrew Loh, theonlinecitizen
The question we need to ask is this: If public servants are seen to be money-grabbers, who then will want to step forth and serve?
by Ong Tiong Ling, theonlinecitizen
I suggest that Temasek buy over all the shares from the shareholders and merge SMRT and SBSTransit. Then work out a justifiable revenue that is enough to provide for maintenance cost, bus/train upgrading and overhead cost.
by Ng Tze Yong, New Paper
Boeing 737's rudder control system may have been blamed for the MI 185's tragedy. But the suicide theory lingers on...
by Catherine Lim
The present PAP government will allow open debate only on those topics that have created a public hue and cry.
by S Ramesh, Channel NewsAsia
Only 5% said they wish to remain in the workforce till they're 65.
See Also:
Half Of The Singapore Workforce Don't Want To Work Past 60: Nielsen, by Nielsen. Majority feel they need over S$1MM to retire comfortably.
I wonder how many percent of workers is working in a job that they really like.
by Asha Popatlal, Channel NewsAsia
The Competition Commission of Singapore said NETS (Network for Electronic Transfers Singapore) did not infringe the Competition Act by giving discounts to shops for 12 months, if they offer NETS only, and no other form of cashless payment such as credit cards.
See Also:
The Competition COmmission Of SIngapore Closes Its Inquiry Into The NETS Affinity Programme, by Competition Commission of Singapore, Singapore Government. The introduction of this discount scheme is likely to result in more merchants accepting NETS. Hence, consumers will have an added choice of using NETS at the stores of AP merchants.
by Thomson Financial
by Lee Kuan Yew, Forbes
Singapore and Southeast Asia (Asean), sandwiched between these two behemoths, need China and India to achieve a balanced relationship, one that allows both to grow and prosper, pulling up the rest of Asia-East, SOutheast and South—with them.
by Chen Shiyin, Bloomberg
Singapore's property comanies may lag behnd Asian real estate developers for a second straight year in 2008 as government limits on speculation cool the housing market.
by Tim Lee, The American Scene
It's not clear how relevant Singapore's experience is to the American immigration debate. The big difference is that Singapore is an authoritarian regime that isn't too worried about equality or civil liberties, nor does it have to worry as much about short-term political expediency.
by Leong Sze Hian, theonlinecitizen
by I Have Succumbed To Peer Pressure
by Asia Sentinel
The world's highest-paid public servants get a second round of pay increases with the New Year.
by Hsien-Hsien Lei, Eye On DNA
Despite this set of bad news, I'm not convinced the situation is so dire.
by Highway Of Life
by Christina P Ondevilla, Today
When my Singaporean colleagues ask me what I miss the most about my country, I tell them I miss the acts of common courtesy. I miss being in a place where men still open doors, give up their seats for women, children and the elderly, and where the young help the elderly. We don't have to tell people to be courteous because it is already practised.
by Au Waipang, Yawning Bread
by Gareth Steen, Yawning Bread
So-called "gay rights" are simply nothing more than human rights. Only when 377A is removed from the penal code will gays in Singapore be fully granted first class citizenship.
by Kerry Howley, Reason Magazine
Superficially, it's strange that states like Singapore and the United Arab Emirates are more welcoming to large numbers of immigrants than the United States and Western Europe. Singaporeans exhibit personality traits that predict hostility to immigrants—a comfort with hierarchy and traditionalism, for example—while residents of the U.S. and U.K. are more likely to exhibit immigrant-friendly traits like egalitarianism and openness to change.
Partly, this is explained by contrasting modes of government: Singapore's authoritarian regime is unabashedly pro-immigration; it's not clear that a democratic Singapore would be so welcoming. As important, Chan Hoong, a psychologist at Singapore National University, explains, is Singapore's willingness to accommodate conservatives through policies of segregationt aht Americans would probably find odious. Singaporean conservatives mirror the American right in their fear of cultural erosion and social disorder, but they have largely been placated by a system that invites immigration while emphasizing legality and distance. A comfort with hierarchy expresses itself a sa comfort with inequality, and countries that can tolerate inequality can allow huge influxes of poor people.
by Bernard Leong, Simple Is The Reason Of My Heart
by Smoot
Why don't employees in Singapore have real rights?
by Heng-Cheong Leong, MyAppleMenu
Another state, the state of New Jersey, has repealed the death penalty. "Society first must determine if its endorsement of violence begets violence," said governor Jon S. Corzine, "and if violence undermines our commitment to the sanctity of life. To these questions, I answer yes."
When is Singapore's turn?
by Reuters
Nearly half the buildings in Singapore's prime retail street, Orchard Road, and its financial district are inaccessible to those on wheelchairs, a survey by the Building and Construction Authority has found.
by Leong Sze Hian, theonlinecitizen
by This Lush Garden Within
by Straits Times
Edusave contributions will go up by $10 to $180 for students at the primary level, and by $20 to $220 for those at the secondary level, the Ministry of Education announced.
See Also:
Increase In Contributions Rates To Edusave Accounts, by Ministry of Education, Singapore Government.
by Salma Khalik, Straits Times
Health messages, put out regularly for years, did not seem to be reaching the lower-educated.
by Soh Bee Pheng, Straits Times
If Singapore wants to be world-class, something has to be done before we lose out.
by Darius Lim, Mindef, Straits Times
Independent tests by the Inspectorate (Singapore) Pte Ltd and DSO National Laboratories on the red-dye deposits confirm that the deposits are not harmful.
See Also:
Wanted: Answers To Red Dye Saga, by Law Sin Ling.
Note that a few of the concerns raised by Mr Law were not answered, including whether Mindef did any assessment to anticipate this accident, and the use of taxpayers' money to make compensation.
by Leong Wee Keat and Ansley Ng, Today
See Also:
No Shortage Of Taxis At City Fringe Stands, by Maria Almenoar and Liaw Wy-Cin, Straits Times.
by Wong Mun Wai, Channel NewsAsia
SIngapore's largest taxi operator, ComfortDelGro, has seen a drop in call bookings during the morning peak hours, largely due to the higher taxi fares which kicked in on Monday. However, the company has described this as an expected knee-jerk reaction.
by Simply Jean
See Also:
Taxi Drivers Getting Pwned..., by Simply Jean.
by Deadpoet's Cave
This was from the time before the North-East Line, when each direction had a unique colour.
by Straits Times
by Praveen Rajan
by Alice In Wonderland
The requirements of the taxi operator is set so high, that no common taxi driver will be able to team up to fulfil them.
by All And Sundry Singapore
We must agree that PAP is an efficient government. But it needs "upgrading" to learn to drop the use of fear tactics to rule.
by Gilbert Goh Keow Wah, Today
One wonders if the jobs created, mostly in the service sector, are more suitable for younger workers.
by Chua Hian Hou, Straits Times
Retailers in specialist malls such as Sim Lim Square, Queensway Shopping Centre and United Square have not escaped the tide of rising rentals seen at other malls here. Some tenants have reported demands for rent hikes of up to 30 per cent when the time came to renew their shop leases.
Where is the Amazon.com of Singapore?
by Ng Lai Yien, Straits Times
It seems the only means of public transport for this group of bikers is by taxi.
Er... taxi is not public transport. It is a "premium" service.
by Nomadism
Their arugment is that because HK taxi charges that price, hence it is reasonable for Singapore taxi to charge the same amount. WHat utter crap!
by Chubby Hubby
Chef Chan's is the latest incarnation of one of Singapore's most well-known and respected Chinese (Cantonese) restaurant.
by Thomson Financial
As concerns rise about the increasing clout of state-owned investment funds, Singapore capital is seen as potentially less threatening than other sources of government-linked funding, analysts say.
by Benjamin Cheah, theonlinecitizen
by Chee Soon Juan, Robert Amsterdam
Authoritarian capitalism was attempted with abysmal consequences in Indonesia. Its failings are beginning to show in present-day Singapore. In the long run, the rot creeps in ever so inconspicuously and eventually hurts the country more than it helps.
by Low Ching Ling, New Paper
If one looks narrowly, of course taxi is a personal premium door-to-door service, just like the situation in many countries around the world. Of course, car ownership is much much cheaper in many other countries in the world — even in New York. If we intentionally push the price of car ownership and usage way up high, what sort of alternatives are available if taxi fare is also pushed way up high?
We have to remember, taxi service is considered a premium service in other parts of the world because car ownership is not a rich-man's plaything, but a day-to-day essential item in other parts of the world.
by Empty Vesel
We have to stop comparing our taxi rates with the rest of the world. A country's reputation is measured by its real-world efficiency, not how it stacks up in terms of quantitative data.
by Seah Chiang Nee, The Star
Among all its bank shareholdings, mostly across Asia, Switzerland is a special case, because it has long been regarded as the role model for Singaore to emulate.
In the eyes of many people here, this is the sort of opportunity that only comes once in decades.
by Kay O' Sullivan, Sydney Morning Herald
Long regarded as one of the world's best airports, Singapore's Changi ceded its crown to Hong Kong this year in the Skytrax awards, the world's largest and most influential survey of passenger opinions. But that could change with the opening of the new terminal, T3, on January 9.
by Clement Mesenas, Today
The staff at Dover Park Hospice do their best to make the patients' last days as pleasant as possible. According to a DPH flyer, which promotes the hospice's annual bid to raise funds: "If we cannot add days to life, we add life to days."
by Sandra Davie, Straits Times
by Theresa Tan, Straits Times
by Chua Sheng Yang, Straits Times
The government's action in giving itself a pat on the back with salary increases, in the face of the plight of low-income Singaporeans, would come across as a callous one.
The whole idea of haivng a formula determining the maximum pay of ministers came into being so as to reduce the amount of debate and justification needed in the parliament, if I recall correctly. Well, the debate is still continuing, and the idea doesn't seem to work.
by Lee U-Wen, Today
Because of the new compulsory requirement for students to take a subject outside their discipline, most Science pupils, who formt he bulk of the junior college cohort, chose Economics, a subject usually offered by those in the Arts stream.
by Christie Loh, Today
Citigroup economist CHua Hak Bin said he "can't help feeling there is some strategic, national imperative as well", because the deal "fits SIngapore's drive to become a private banking hub."
by Reuters
A climate of fear that stops citizens from speaking out against the government could eventually lead to the decline of Singapore, novelist Catherine Lim says.
by Mollymeek
by Leong Sze Hian, theonlinecitizen
by Endoh Pure Ranting Room
So are Singaporeans giving up the dream of retiring early because of surrounding circumstances or because they seriously enjoy walking into offices from 8 am to 6 pm?
Personally, I'm lucky that I do like my work. Sometime, when I stop going into an office from 8 to 6, I'll probably still be working on the same kind of things at home.
by Mollymeek
In a way, this uniquely Singaproe (or perhaps not?) situation cripples people more than they would be in countries where gays are outrightly persecuted.
by Ron Corben, AAP
Singapore Airlines president Chew Choon Seng said Australia had been protectionist about rights for the Australia-US air route, which was benefiting Australia's largest carrier Qantas.
by Stephen Bartholomeusz, Business Spectator
The plan unveiled by the IDA is quite radical because it is proposing multi-layered structural separation. In effect, Singapore is planning a new completely open-access wholesale platform, where the builders/owners of the platform are essentially infrastructure owners and operators rather than telecommunications service providers.
by Hoe Yeen Nie, Channel NewsAsia
The changes are in line with the adjustments made by market leader ComfortDelGro which will be increasing fares from December 17.
See Also:
New Fares Will Help Taxi Partners Manage Rising Overhead Costs, by SMRT Corporation Ltd.
by Straits Times
Wages continued to rise between July and September and at a more moderate pace, said the Ministry of Manpower in a statement on Friday.
See Also:
MOM Statement On Labour Market 3rd Quarter, by Singapore Government.
by The Moley Prophet
One of the few things I like about Buffalo, among the many dislikes I have for America, is the courtesy built into people.
by All And Sundry Singapore
Why is the government unable to attract and retain talents? I think the main reason is not because good people are put off by the "low ministerial salaries." Neither is it because good people dislike PAP. It is a problem with Singaporeans who are generally politically apathetic, unpatriotic and greedy.
Whatever the reasons are, it is a problem if the government have to resort to materialistic rewards in order to attract "good" people.
by Kog Yue Choong, Today
Hiking fares is not the only way to tackle even economic questions.
It is the easiest action to take though — espcially when you have monopolistic power.
by Loh Chee Kong, Today
Speaking to the Singapore media yesterday as he wrapped up his visit to the United Nations Climate Change Conference, prime minister Lee Hsien Loong ruled out the construction of nuclear reactors in Singapore — which requires a safety radius of 30km — and cited solar power as a possible additional energy source, provided the cost continues to decline.
by Caitlin Fua, StarHub, Straits Times
While it may take an extra pull, in the form of giveaways, to encourage a new customer to join us, we believe that offering quality content and service is the best way we can give value to our cable TV customers, and motivate them to continue their subscription packages with us.
What is StarHub really saying? That its products are not good enough to entice new customers, so StarHub have to use free LCD TV as bait? If the product are not good enough to entice new customers, what makes existing customers stay? Lock-in?
by Jeremy Au Yong, Straits Times
Wages for top-earners in the private sector shot up by as much as 80 per cent last year, effectively driving up the government's salary benchmark.
by Lydia Lim, Straits Times
From next year, the government will set aside 7 per cent of the salaries of ministers and top civil servants to fund their future pensions.
by Roland Lim, Channel NewsAsia
by TelecomTV
Idiosyncratic, says Telstra. Over-thought and unworkable, opined the CEO of one Asia service provider. Quite stupid, said a technical expert with a major vendor in the FTTH field.
THey were all talking about Singapore's newly announced NGN policy which will offer up to S$750 million of government subsidies in return for a 100Mbps+ access nework that must be structurally separated between the passive infrastructure operator (the ducts and the fibre) and the active infrastructure operator (the electronic bits such as switching and transmission).
by Channel NewsAsia
TOp public sector staff will have a second round of salary adjustments on January 1 next year. The group includes administrative officers, as well as political, judicial and statutory appointment holders.
by Alfred Siew, Straits Times
by All And Sundry Singapore
by Rosie Milne, Telegraph
From tiger hunts to amateur theatricals, Rosie Milne reads an Englishman's account of life in Singapore at the turn of the twentieth century.
by Liang Dingzi, Today
The consumers can do little to influence the saga's ending.
by Simon Ng Yap Peng, Today
by Ng Jing Yng, Today
by Tan Hui Leng, Today
The Land Transport Authority and the Singapore Tourism Board yesterday launchd the Singapore Tourist Pass, which offers visitors unlimited rides on buses, MRTs and LRTs at $8 a day.
by Julia Ng, Channel NewsAsia
by Lee Khai Yan, Channel NewsAsia
Some fathers will be bringing their children to school when the new term starts in 2008.
by Reuters
Sexy Manolos or Jimmy Choos may top the wishlist of many women this Christmas, but huge waterproof boots were the idea festive gift for two jumbo females at Singapore's zoo.
by Zazali Musa, The Star
by Sam's Thoughts
Ultimately, Singaproeans want to be happy, but their happiness is framed by the Singapore Dream. What can we do about it?
by Singapore Life And Times
My main worry now is the additional pressure this will put on the bus and rail services.
by Debbie Yong, Straits Times
A cinema that screens only made-in-Singapore movies? It may sound like a doomed project, but partners Randy Ang and Nicholas Chee are undeterred.
by Law Sin Ling, Straits Times
by Tan Li San, Ministry of Finance, Straits Times
Going forward we will continue to review how to improve the disbursement of government reliefs and rebates in a way which is fair and reasonable.
by Leong Wee Keat, Today
Observers Today spoke to are divided on whether a price increase alone would allow taxis to pull away from buses and trains as recognised "public" forms of transport.
There are also concerns as to whether the new fare structure will benefit taxi drivers, who gripe of escalating operational costs.
by Wayne Arnold, New York Times
by Maria Almenoar and Jessica Jaganathan, Straits Times
If you need to hail a cab on the fringes of downtown, be prepared to wait, a transport expert warned on Tuesday. In the wake of new rules that give some cabbies a bonus for picking up passengers in the heart of the city, many are likely to skip the outskirts and make a bee-line for places like Orchard Road.
by Satish Cheney, Channel NewsAsia
The University of New South Wales and EDB, as well as other Singapore agencies, have reached a settlement over their fallout.
No details were provided as to how much the settlement agreement involves.
Should the government be invovled in such secret deals using public funds?
See Also:
UNSW Agrees To Repay $32.3m, by Sandra Davie, Straits Times. The University of New South Wales (UNSW), which shut its Asia campus here early this year, has agreed to repay Singapore over $32 million in backed loans and grants, The Straits Times has learnt.
by Reuters
Singapore called on Tuesday for bids to build the country's next-generation broadband network, saying the winning bidder would have to be structurally separate from the city-state's telecommunication and internet operators.
by Mollymeek
From whom do you think Mindef got the money to compensate the farmers? And guess what? Mindef is not telling us how much it paid in compensation.
by Gerald Giam, theonlinecitizen
by John McDonnell, New York Times
In my job, I travel about 200,000 miles a year. After a while every city starts to look alike. But I can always tell what part of the world I'm in by its drivers. Growing up in Boston, I figured I could handle any type of problem the gods of driving threw at me. I met my match in Singapore, a place known for its law-abiding citizens.
by Simply Jean
by Daniel Goh, Young Upstarts
While the Prima Deli crisis continues to escalate, the guys in MINDEF actually gets it quite right dealing with their own recent public relations mishap.
by Shu-Ching Jean Chen, Forbes
See Also:
Singapore's Temasek Says Ups Sorak Stake To 75 Pct, by Reuters.
Sovereign Funds Scoop Up Crisis Victims, by Ambrose Evans-Pritchard, Telegraph.
by Pamela Almeda, Channel NewsAsia
by Yvonne Cheong, Channel NewsAsia
by Sheralyn Tay, Today
Here's one more reason to celebrate in the New Year — the job market is expected to remain rosy for all sectors in the first quarter of 2008, with the highest employment projections for teachers and public administrators, according to the Manpower Employment Outlook Survey.
The unasnwered question: will those without jobs or with low-paying jobs today get a better job? The boom may not, obviously, apply to them.
by Loh Chee Kong, Today
The government and community may be going all out to promote inter-faith dialogues, but scepticism still remains, it seems, about the effectiveness of such discussions.
by Caitlin Fua, StarHub, Straits Times
We would also like to point out that in many markets around the world, customers are charged the full fee for all subscribed channels for each additional set-top box. In comparison, StarHub customers only need to pay a relatively low monthly charge for each additional set-top box, and do not have to pay additional fees for each channel accessed from these set-top boxes.
If you still don't understand, maybe this explanation will help: we couldn't have charge you much more, but we didn't, so just be grateful, okay? :-)
by Leaena Tambyah, Straits Times
See Also:
Attitude Towards Foreigners - We Can Do Better, by Wong Jock Onn, Straits Times.
by Zul Othman, Today
Singaporeans generally prefer social stability to freedom of the press. At the same time, more feel that government or publicly-funded media are doing a "good job" in accurately reporting news compared to privately-funded companies.
Since when stabilty and freedom of the press are on the opposite end of a spectrum? We can't have both? That's news to me.
by theonlinecitizen
by Bernard Leong, Simple Is The Reason Of My Heart
by AFP
Singapore should follow its less-developed neighbours and create an independent human rights commission, an activist said Monday after launching a petition urging establishment of the body.
by John Burton, Financial Times
In the early 2000s, there were predictions of a three-way struggle to attract shipping among the Malay peninsula's main ports of SIngapore, Port Klang and newcomer Tanjung Pelepas.
But the predictions proved wrong and all three have propsered because of intcreased traffic between Europe and Asia.
by AFP
Work on a second Singapore cruise ship terminal is likely to start next year, the chief of the city-state's tourism board said Monday.
by Channel NewsAsia
Flagging down a Comfort or CityCab will cost $0.30 more at $2.80. The metered fare has also been adjusted.
Instead of the $2 surcharge for peak hour travel, there will now be a premium levied. It will be 35 per cent of the metered fare. And the CBD surcharge will go up by $2 to $3.
by Patrick Frater, Variety Asia
It highlights an unfortunate reality: that Singapore's media adinistrators are bigger stars than its moviemakers.
by Melanie Lee, Reuters
A popular Singapore eatery is bringing back the tiffin to entice customers keen to save the planet while enjoying a blast from the past.
by Straits Times
by Melanie Lee, Reuters
Singaporean authorities say drug use is low, but anecdotal evidence tells of the emergence of an underground party drug scene mostly at night clubs frequented by the wealthy.
by Hau Mau
by Loh Chee Kong, Today
Questioning the Monetary Authority of Singapore's use of the exchange rate as the key monetary policy instrument — while eschewing the interest rate as a tool — Mr Ngiam Tong Dow said that long-term growth could only be sustained by increases in productivity.
Such shortsightedness has come back to haunt Singapore in some instances, Mr Ngiam added.
by Mollymeek
by Lovely Nick's Space
In Singapore, though the grammar is mostly right, I can hear almost nothing!
by Sify.com
Democracy may obstruct India's development, but it also makes the world look at this billion-strong nation differently, with no fear of aggression vis-a-vis China, says SIngapore's minister-mentor Lee Kuan Yew.
by Sarah Chew, The Star
NUS law faculty is gearing up to produce a generation of lawyers who are confident and possess cutting-edge knowledge to meet global challenges.
by Bryan Lee, Straits Times
With its 7.9 per cent grwoth last year, it has been called a developed country growing at developing-nation rates.
by Mavis Toh and Shuli Sudderuddin, Straits Times
China workers may be cheaper to hire, but their lack of English is putting off some customers.
by Singapore Life And Times
The varying quantum in tips is exactly the factor that should drive service providers to give of their best.
by Straits Times
by Associated Press
Singapore's economic growth is expected to slow next year, with inflation likely to accelerate due to rising rents, wages and global oil prices, according to a central bank poll issued Friday.
by Krista Mahr, Time
by Sandra Davie, Straits Times
by Loh Chee Kong, Today
Political scientist Ho Khai Leong interpreted the results this way: THat Singaporeans distinguished between a system that was "not too fair" to the opposition, and the "money politics" in some countries in the region.
by On Giin Jau, Straits Times
by Anthony Yeo, Conselling and Care Centre, Straits Times
by Patricea Chow-Capodieci, A Word-Smith's Substance
Is this a sign of how life in Singapore's society has moulded us?
by Bill Powell, Time
Sovereign wealth funds out there are flush with cash — and fortune favors the bold.
by Maria Almenoar, Straits Times
In the Land Transport Authority's latest enforcement operations, no cabbies were caught touting. However, six were nabbed for overcharging and eight for refusing to pick up passengers.
by Channel NewsAsia
The Singapore Air Traffic Rights Committee gave the rights to Jetstar Asia and Tiger Airways, said a transport ministry statement on Friday.
by Leung Wai-Leng, Straits Times
Apple threatened retailers in an e-mail to go after them for illegally 'unlocking' parallel imported iPhones.
See Also:
iPhone Sale Illegal But Just Visit Lucky Plaza, by Leung Wai-Leng, Straits Times.
Singapore Shops Remove Illegal iPhones After Apple Threat - Paper, by Reuters.
If I am optimistic-kind of person, I'd say that this is sign that Apple will be bringing the iPhone into Singapore Real Soon Now. Time to save up.
by Simply Jean
by Liew Hanqing, New Paper
Too much or too little? The answer to that depends on which side of the taxi you sit.
by Singapore Life And Times
It seemed that, whether deserved or not, local taxi drviers have gained a notoreity about disappearing just before midnight to reappear miraculously at the stroke of the hour.
The taxi drivers — on the whole, in general — in Singapore is simply not hungry enough. THe solution for the government is to make it easier to become a taxi driver, and easier to create taxi companies. Increase the supply.
by Hasnita A Majid, Channel NewsAsia
The Ministry of Health said PRs will continue to be subsidised for hospital services, but at 5 percentage points less than citizens.
by I Made Andi Arsana, Jakarta Post
The decision made by the ICJ will be important for Indonesia, being the closest neighbor. The decision concerning the sovereignty over the three features will influence the future maritime boundary settlement as this will define with which state Indonesia will negotiate its maritime boundaries in the region.
by Jason Leow, Wall Street Journal
by Heng-Cheong Leong, MyAppleMenu
If you are interested in polls and numbers, here's a new one: only 68 per cent of Singaporeans believe that the "elections in your country are free and fair." That's behind Malaysia (74%), but ahead of Indonesia (58%), Hong Kong (51%), and other countries in the region.
On the topic of satisfiaction with democracy, Singapore, with 81 percent, rank ahead of Hong Kong (71%), Indonesia (69%), but behind Malaysia (88%) and Vietnam (89%).
by The Singapore Diaries
I'm currently sitting at home looking out of the window, watching the December rain soak the city. Not so unusual for a December lunchtime you might think, until I remember that I'm in Singapore. However the rain makes it feel like home, there's something wrong with Christmas in Singapore. Something very wrong indeed.
by Hasnita A Majid, Channel NewsAsia
by Reuters
Google Inc is releasing a new application for Apple Inc's iPhnoe that combines the web leader's services such as e-mail, search and calendar into a single interface.
by Liew Hanqing, New Paper
Former national athlete endorses Wii lookalike from China.
by Leong Wee Keat, Today
Mr Han Songguang, a transport researcher, said that the middle class is facing a "lose-lose situation" as the hikes will not have a big impact on the problem of the shortage of taxis, especially during peak hours.
by Shearlyn Tay, Today
THe National Environment Agency (NEA) is considering increasing the frequency of Bring Your Own Bag Day, having received feedback that shoppers would welcome this move.
by Straits Times
Singapore's first Chinese freesheet My Paper will be transformed into a full-fledged bilingual newspaper from next month.
Is this a back-door way for SPH to slowly crawl back into the freesheet market and regain the readers lost when it terminated Streats so as to merge its television stations with Mediacorp?
by Aaron Ng, Hear Ye! Hear Ye!
by Bernama
Malaysia's relations with Singapore have progressed well since Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi took office as prime minister about four years ago, Malaysian deputy finance minister Datuk Dr Ng Yen Yen said today.
She said the cordial relations had come to a stage where there was now an easy camaraderie among the leaders on both sides of the causeway.
by The States Times
by Daniel Goh, Young Upstarts
Nothing was mentioned in the news reports of how Prima Deli wanted to help those affected. I'm not even sure if any Prima Deli staff even visited those sent to hospital.
by Assif Shameen, Financial Times
The private banking business in Asia is so good these days that banks are flying aircraft-loads of customers for weekends away just to say thank-you — whereas in the past they might have sent a year-end gift hamper.
by Saeed Azhar, Reuters
Singapore's Temasek, Asia's pioneer sovereign wealth fund with stakes in Barclays and Standard Chartered, looks to be calling the top of the China stock boom and is scouting for cheaper targets in the West.
See Also:
Singapore's Temasek To Back $2 Billion China Fund, by MarketWatch.
by Today
The AVA has ordered Prima to stop all production and recall all its food products. It will not be allowed to resume production until it attains the required hygiene standards.
by Peh Shing Huei, Straits Times
The final shape of the third-generation leadership will become clear when the cabinet is reshuffled next year, analysts and MPs are predicting.
by Christopher Tan, Straits Times
Taxi giant ComfortDelGro Corp has notified the Public Transport Council (PTC) about an imminent fare increase. The PTC could not say more.
Sources said the adjustment will include a 30-cen trise in flag-down rate.
by Muhamad Rostam Umar, Singapore Tourism Board, Straits Times
See Also:
Leave The Beautiful Mandai Rainforest Alone, by George Pasqual, Straits Times.
Mandai To Be Turned Into Asia's Top Nature Spot, by Hoe Yeen Nie, Channel NewsAsia.
by Ong Toon Hui, Public Service Division, Prime Minister's Office, Straits Times
by The Kway Teow Man
by AFP
The profitability of Singaporean banks could be hurt by renewed concerns over the US subprime mortgage crisis, or if the world's biggest economy slips into a recession, the central bank here said.
by Leong Wee Keat, Today
Instead of one-time handouts, empowerment is the thrust of a government-appointed committee's 26 recommendations to boost social enterprises and to help the disadvantaged people they employ.
To bolster the fledgling sector, the Social Enterprise Committee proposes the setting up of industry bodies by the middle of next year to promote such ventures, and asking the public sector to lead by example to help nuture a pro-social enterprise environment here.
by Nazry Bahrawi, Today
by Au Waipang, Yawning Bread
Why, in the matter of hate speech and hate crimes, are we so parsimonious in its scope?
by Salma Khalik and Teh Joo Lin, Straits Times
The new general hospital in Yishun is going to cost about 30 per cent, or $100 million, more than planned because of the construction boom.
by Christopher Tan and Tracy Sua, Straits Times
Taxi drivers want it and their associations have asked for it, so all that remains is for the biggest taxi operator ComfortDelGro to go ahead and do it - raise taxi fares that is.
The flag-down fare is expected to rise by 30 cents, brining the minimum starting fare to $2.80. Newer taxis such as the Hyundai Sonata and Kia Magentis charge 20 cents more, so their flag-down rate should hit $3, The Straits Times understands.
by David Boey, Straits Times
The Ministry of Defence said yesterday that it is working out a 'compensation package' for the farmers who have been forced to destroy their vegetables, which were stained by tiny red droplets.
by Gilbert Goh Keow Wah, Straits Times
by Darius Lim, Mindef, Straits Times
by AFP
Al-Jazeera's English channel has received permission to be broadcast in the city-state, the government said on Monday.
by Mollymeek
Singapore is no cosmopolitan city. We can't accept the foreign; we can't even accept ourselves if we have no use value. The people who have control over Singapore have obstinately shielded it from the true cosmopolitanism, preferring to opt instead for cosmetic cosmopolitanism. Exploitative cosmopolitanism.
Local or foreign, aren't we all just the pawns of a manipulative game of chess played by invisible players whose identity we ought to know better?
by IPS, Human Rights Tribune
Singapore's strong pro-death penalty stand during the November U.N. General Assembly vote on a draft resolution calling for an end to the death penalty has disappointed many.
by Leong Sze Hian, theonlinecitizen
by DPA
Singaporeans are living longer but are sick for more years than people in several other countries, with heart disease, stroke, cancer, diabetes and mental illness the main culprits, a study said on Monday. Many deaths come from diseases that could be prevented, said the Ministry of Health study.
by Decay On Net
If you were successful, I think everyone in Singapore will remember this day and celebrate your birth. But you are a great disappointment.
by Sumant Banerji, Indian Express
With more than 2,700 Indian firms operating in the country, Singapore has emerged as the favourite destination for domestic corporates looking to internationalise.
by Singapore Life And Times
There can be no sense of 'victory' this time around.
by Leong Hung Yee, The Star
Singapore is increasingly being recognised as Asia's financial gateway and many companies are seeking listing on the Singapore Exchange Ltd (SGX).
by Au Waipang, Yawning Bread
The steady inroads made by the Chinese language in social and public life not only reverses 40 years of nation-building, a major plank of which is the adoption of English as a neutral platform for communication in order that no ethnic group will feel disadvantaged, it can be seriously alienating to our ethnic minorities in a very personal way. Encountering such moments makes them feel actuely marginalised in what is really their own country.
by Ng Ya Ken, Straits Times
If this trend goes unchecked, citizens would become a minority should our population reach 6.5 million one day. The social and political implications associated with such a scenario are just unthinkable.
I just want to note that the headline, probably written by Straits Times, does not match the content as written by Ng Ya Ken. No where in the letter as published did Mr Ng pushed for "prevent any fall in percentage of citizens". What Mr Ng wrote, instead was to "prevent the percentage of citizens from falling at too fast a rate or below a certain mark."
by Leong Wee Keat, Today
The Taxi Operators' Association — which represents six affiliates — has been in talks with taxi companies to raise meter fares for the "past few months".
See Also:
Cabbies Are As Errant As Ever, by Mark Ho, Today.
by Wong Mun Wai, Channel NewsAsia
by And What The Heck!
by Knife Tricks
by Seah Chiang Nee, The Star
Singapore is pursuing energy conservation and a reduction of global warming as though its survival depends on it.
by Mavis Toh and Shull Sudderuddin, Straits Times
by Jamie Ee Wen Wei and Nur Dianah Suhaimi, Straits Times
The economy may be buoyant, but low-wage earners have been telling MPs and social workers that they can barely stay afloat because the cost of living has been going up. These workers say that their wages are not rising as fast as inflation.
by Tan Hui Yee and Mavis Toh, Straits Times
Town councils tempted to play the stock market to increase the returns on their sinking funds will now have to meet a new rule that caps how much they can put into higher-risk investments.
by Mavis Toh and Shull Sudderuddin, Straits Times
Vegetable prices are not expected to be affected. The 200 tonnes of produce — about 10 lorry loads — that will be incinerated in Tuas comprise less than 1 per cent of Singapore's consumption, said Paul Chew, AVA's deputy directory of veterinary public health.
by Hoe Yeen Nie, Channel NewsAsia
The highest bridge in Singapore does not have a name yet, and Singapore Urban Redvelopment Authorith has organised a naming competition for those eager to leave their mark.
Let's see.... Second Link. Marina Bay. Budget Terminal. Let's just call this "Highest Bridge" and get on with our lives.
by Martyn See, No Political Films Please, We're Singaporeans
Let's see how creative MDA can get by banning a work that's already circulating online.
by Kadek Krishna Adidharma, Jakarta Post
To be the best, it is important to learn from the success of others in order to beat them at their own game. Indonesia may have creativity, but Singapore has a strong work ethic and support for the arts on its side.
by Jessica Jaganathan and David Boey, Straits Times
Mindef says dye was from an aircraft being tested on the ground last Friday.
See Also:
Singapore Air Force Left Red-Faced By Botched Test, by Reuters.
by Lim Boon Hee, Straits Times
by Seah Leong Khai, Straits Times
This fuel surcharge should be pegged to prevailing disel prices and reviewed every two to three months, and adjustments made.
by Poh Tip Twee, Straits Times
With the high cost of living, Singaporeans, too, need a job but to their dismay they are being supplanted by foreigners.
See Also:
Some Foreign Workers Earn More Than Locals For Less Work, by Lim Poh Suan, Straits Times.
Service Staff Must Know English, by Murali Sharma, Straits Times.
Foreign Workers In Sales Line Must Master At Least Basic English, by Loke Hoe Kit, Straits Times.
by Loh Chee Kong, Today
In the end, it is the economics that will dictate.
by P N Baliji, Today
The thought must have struck every concerned Singaporean, not just the Indian Singaporean: Can the boiling over of years of pent-up emotions, anger and frustration of the ethnic Indian community in Kuala Lumpur happen here?
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.